Design Speak lets you in on a some industry lingo so that you will sound oh-so-smart. From abbreviations to acronyms to phrases to trendy words, we’ll do our best to cover it, and we’ll do it in language you’ll understand.

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R-value

(pronounced r VAL-yoo)

Otherwise known as Resistance-value, this term is a measure of thermal resistance – i.e., resistance to heat transfer or flow – used in the construction industry. The bigger the R-value number, then the more effective the insulation will be in holding heat in a structure and keeping heat out of a structure, thereby lowering its operational energy costs. R-value is the reciprocal of U-value, which describes how well an element conducts heat.

raceway

(pronounced RAYS-way)

Rather than speeding cars, raceways in the A&D world carry speeding data and electricity from one connection point to another via cables and wires. Raceways can be closed or open, plastic or metal, stiff or flexible. They can house cabling along the ground, down/up a wall, along a ceiling line, or even within furniture. If wide, open at the top and located inside a plenum, a raceway might alternatively be referred to as a cable tray. Another term for a wall- or furniture-mounted raceway that is open at the top is J-channel due to the shape of its profile.

radio weave

(pronounced RAY-dee-oh weev)

A radio weave is when cane webbing is woven into a square pattern instead of the more common octagonal pattern.

See also: cane / cane webbing

raffia

(pronounced RAH-fee-uh)

Raffia comes from the fiber of the raffia palm, a large pinnate-leaved of Madagascar and tropical Africa. The tree’s large leaves are torn apart into long parallel pieces and dried to produce long raffia strands, which have a light brown color. The strong, durable strands can be used as packing material; dyed and made into cord for tying and weaving into textiles, mats, bags, shoes and hats; or simply used as string, both utilitarian and decorative.

railroad

(pronounced RAYL-rohd)

Such a simple word, but so many meanings! In our case, however, railroading has to do with how fabric is applied to a piece of upholstery or used to create window treatments and the like. Normally a bolt of fabric is somewhere around 56”-60” wide, and it is applied vertically as it unrolled from the bolt. However, there are some cases – with a striped pattern, for instance – that you might prefer to have the fabric railroaded so that the pattern lays out perpendicular to the way in which it comes off the bolt. There are other instances when what you need to upholster – a cushion or pelmet, for example – is too wide and the fabric width just isn’t long enough to accommodate the application. Therefore, some fabric mills will work with you to manufacture a railroaded version of the desired fabric directly at the mill. This condition makes it appear as if you had applied the fabric/pattern in the direction that was originally intended, but without the seams that would have been required. This is especially helpful if the pattern is an intricate one and would have been complicated to align.

ramie

(pronounced RAY-mee)

The term ramie is the name of a perennial plant found in Asia, but it also refers to both the fiber made from the plant that can be spun or woven into fabric, as well as to the resulting fabric itself, which frequently looks like silk or linen. Ramie fiber is often combined with silk, cotton or wool to produce fabrics with different characteristics, and the fiber can also be used to produce paper.

rattan

(pronounced reh-TAN)

See cane / cane webbing.

rebar

(pronounced REE-bar)

It’s not very exciting, but it’s all too necessary. This odd little word came from shortening and combing the words “reinforcing bar.” What are these heavily ridged steel rods reinforcing exactly? Concrete for columns, beams, floors, heavy-duty walls, pathways, bridges, etc. (They are the spindly, often slightly rusted metal pieces you see sticking out of concrete during construction.) See, concrete can easily handle compressive (a.k.a. crushing) forces, but tensile forces (the kind that pulls things apart) make it weak in the knees. Steel, on the other hand, performs beautifully under tension, so the combo of the two is a match made in heaven. Rebar is so prevalent – and loved - that some people do crazy things with it like create sculpture and (very uncomfortable) furniture. To each his own.

See also: core drilling

redline

(pronounced just like the two words – red and line – put together)

In the banking, technology, and automotive worlds, this word has an array of meanings, but in the architecture and design industry it means only one thing: to mark up construction documents (specifications and drawings) for corrections and/or changes. Traditionally, this was done with a red pen so that it could be seen easily, but now, many firms redline on the computer in a variety of ways. Many designers, architects, and engineers will have CAD draftsmen or interns to assist them, so the latter will work on drawings and present them to the former, who will then redline the drawings so that accurate corrections can be made.

reeding

(pronounced REE-ding)

A decorative term that can apply to architectural ornamentation as well as to furniture and accessories. It describes (usually a series of) thin, parallel convex moldings set close together. Each of these is called a reed, and together it is known as reeding. On buildings, you’ll commonly see it carved – or pre-cast – in stone. In interiors, it might show up in stone, wood, plaster, or metal. On contract furniture, it’s a common edge detail for wood office furniture and/or reception desks. Reeding, by the way, is the reverse of fluting.

reflected ceiling plan / RCP

(pronounced rih-FLEK-tehd SEE-ling plan / pronounced as the initials R.C.P.)

An RCP (look Ma, no punctuation!) is a graphic way of communicating all of the many elements that go into making up the ceiling of a space. RCPs make up part of the construction document package, and contractors use them to build out a project. Quite simply, it’s a plan view of a ceiling drawn as it would appear if a mirror was placed on the floor below it. (Are you with me?) You can think of it another way: it’s a plan view drawn looking downwards. Some elements that you might find on a reflected ceiling plan: a symbol legend (so that people can decipher your plan), drywall ceiling contours (along with designated ceiling heights), lines representing how a lay-in ceiling should be installed, a switching diagram (which light fixtures are grouped), and locations for light fixtures, along with exit / emergency lights, diffusers, skylights, etc. And just as you would on an elevation or floor plan, you call out details and sections on an RCP.

relief

(pronounced ree-LEEF)

In our context, this word has nothing to do with antacids or that feeling you get when all of your mid-terms are over. In this case, a relief is an architectural term. It can used either to mean the projection of part of a surface above the background surface of some material, OR it can mean the object itself where this is occurring. Relief is traditionally associated with stone carvings on architecture and statues, but technology has made it so that now even wallcoverings and tiles (and a myriad of other materials) can have some sort of relief pattern in their design. The latter examples are commonly termed as bas-relief (pronounced BAH-ree-leef), or a low-level / shallow difference in surface depths because of the nature of the material and how it will be used. Something with high relief is more like sculpture in that the figures (or design pattern) project much further out from the background surface.

Rentable Square Footage

(pronounced REN-teh-behl skwair FU-tij)

In the world of commercial real estate and tenant development, Rentable Square Footage is a big deal because it determines how much money the tenant will have to shell out for its space. It’s a bit confusing, but we’ll try to break it down. Rentable Square Footage is the Usable Square Footage plus the tenant’s determined share of the Building Common Areas. This share, called both the pro-rata share and the Rentable/Usable (R/U) Factor, typically lands in a range between 1.10 – 1.16. But how does the building management come up with the R/U Factor? It divides the entire building’s Usable Area into the Total Rentable Area of the building. We told you it was a bit confusing…

See also: Building Common Area, Circulation Factor, Net Square Footage, Usable Square Footage

restack

(pronounced REE-stak)

Many design firms offer this service – i.e., restacking – as part of their repertoire, right along with interior design consulting, space planning, project management, furniture specifications, etc. But what is it? A restack occurs when a company or organization (such as a university campus or governmental agency) wants to reevaluate their current facilities in order to get the most out of every square foot of space. This could be the result of either employee or real estate downsizing or acquisitions, or the motivation could be to stimulate work output, increase company morale, or apply new corporate office space standards. Since the employees must continue to work through the relocations, it’s a tricky process and can be overwhelming, depending on the parameters and project size. The main goals are to create a smooth transition and minimize disruptions, allowing the organization to continue to produce.

return & supply

These words together are usually used to describe the HVAC grilles (see also: diffuser, HVAC). The “supply” grilles provide (or supply) air to a space, while the “return” grilles allow air to return to the HVAC unit(s) to be conditioned again or exhaust the air to the outside. Sometimes light fixtures (see also: luminaires) are designed to be vehicles for air return into the plenum of a ceiling.